A Gulf War veteran and Muslim convert, Muhammad never revealed why he stalked and shot people getting gas or shopping at stores.

His accomplice, Lee Malvo, 24, said Muhammad hoped to extort $10 million from the government to set up a camp where children would be trained as terrorists.

The death penalty was ruled out for Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the murders and committed some of them, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2005 that juvenile offenders cannot be executed.

For three weeks in October 2002, Muhammad and Malvo created panic in Washington and its suburbs.

Many fretted that the shootings were an al-Qaeda plot, coming as they did so close to the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. People avoided going outside and avoided self-serve gas stations.

Police got a break when they found Malvo's fingerprint at one of the shooting scenes and learned he was with Muhammad, and that Muhammad owned a blue Chevrolet Caprice. A truck driver spotted the car Oct. 22 at a highway rest stop in Maryland and police arrested the sleeping killers inside.

The car had been modified so someone could shoot from inside the trunk.

Muhammad and Malvo were convicted of six Maryland murders, for which they received life terms. In Virginia, a jury in 2003 sentenced Muhammad to death for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, killed while pumping gas at a Sunoco station in Manassas.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.